PassMark Performance Test 7.0

The PassMark PerformanceTest allows you to objectively benchmark a PC using a variety of different speed tests and compare the results to other computers. PassMark comprises a complete suite of tests for your computer, including CPU tests, 2D and 3D graphics tests, disk tests, memory tests, and even tests to determine the speed of your system's optical drive. PassMark tests support Hyper-Threading and systems with multiple CPUs, and allow you to save benchmark results to disk (or to export them to HTML, text, GIF, and BMP formats).

Knowledgeable users can use the Advanced Testing section to alter the parameters for the disk, network, graphics, multitasking, and memory tests, and created individual, customized testing suites. PassMark computes a "CPU Marks" score based on the scores of the individual tests in each test suite. For this review I used the CPU, 2D Graphics, and 3D Graphics tests.

CPU Marks increase by 37% with overclocking. The 2D Mark results are interesting: note that the score for the Sandy Bridge 2600K's iGPU is actually higher than that of the native Radeon 6850 used on the P8P67 and P8Z68! In fact on the test platform, the iGPU's score of 669 is 39% better than the score when using the 6850! Intel HD Graphics 3000 (the marketing name for the 2600K's integrated GPU) may not be for gamers, but as long as images stay in 2D, it rocks.

3D Marks show the iGPU's weakness, though. Here Virtu's i-Mode was able to handle the switch, and its 2837 score is 490% better than the iGPU.

Comments

Will the time ever come, when you will be able to flick that switch on the front of your case that switches off your HD6990/GTX590 card,reverting back to using your integrated cpu graphics, for when you just want to surf the net?

Therefore saving you not only wear & tear on your fancy new amd/nvidia card but also electric, which lets face it, ain't cheap nowadays...

Not much bad to say about these new boards. Intel has the cash to develop just about any idea they can imagine to see if it works. With gigantic resources to dip into, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Technically, yes, but unless you type more than, say, 100 keys per second, you're never gonna notice the lower latency of PS/2. Its only real advantage is that it support n-key rollover, whereas I think USB tops out at 6 keys...still enough for humans. Cyborgs, aliens, and keyboard testing machines might want more...

There are four slots for RAM, as several of the pictures, including the one on the first page of the review, clearly show. With 4G DIMMs you could put a maximum of 16G in this motherboard. So you'll need an X58-based system to go any higher than that.

I make some use of 12G of RAM on my Hackintosh, mainly because I run Windows 7 in a virtual machine pretty often while the Mac's doing stuff in the background. Actually, I don't think I've ever measured RAM use above 8G, but I think it could happen!

I'm confused on how virtu will switch on the integrated graphics, I mean do you connect the board as well as the gpu connectors to the same monitor or do the on-board connectors let you switch between either solutions.

All your questions are answered in our separate article "Lucid Virtu Graphics Virtualization Technology". The quick answer is "There's only one connection, either to the motherboard or the graphics card depending on the Virtu mode you select."

A quick question about the heatsink for the Z68 test system. What fan configuration did you use for the heatsink (i.e, Dual-pull or dual-push).

Also was there any clearance issues with the heatsink and the ram? Would you say that the ram had fairly tall heatsinks or not?Would you say the ram you used is similar in dimensions to the G.skill RipjawsX?Thanks

The fans for the Silver Arrow were set up as pull-push, actually. Putting the fan in front of the first set of fins would have blocked the first two RAM sockets. As it was, the first RAM socket was blocked by the heat sink.

On P67/Z68 motherboards I've used, the CPU socket is fairly close to the RAM sockets, and low profile memory would be a good idea. The G.SKILL memory I used wasn't low profile!

So if you had the fans in pull-push, does that mean both fans were in the middle cavity of the Silver Arrow? (sorry just a bit confused on how you configured that)

I checked out the P8Z68V-PRO manual and it recommends installing RAM in the second/fourth slots, so I guess it wouldn't matter too much if the heatsink blocked the first RAM slot. (unless I planned to fill them all up).

Been thinking of getting G.SKILL RipjawsX, which I've checked are about 40mm tall, and the height of the Silver Arrow's base to the first fin is 40.87; it should just slip in. Of course I'll probably have to position the fans left||centre instead of centre||right; or use a 120mm fan.

if you see here ##tomshardware.co.uk/asrock-z68-extreme4-asus-p8z68-v-pro-gigabyte-z68x-ud3h-b3,review-32188-2.html seems that asrock is better for more reason and asus have just 1% more performance that asus.. some one confirm this?

I bought the Zalman CNPS 9900 Max CPU fan, but the Backplate that connects to the motherboard does not fit this motherboard. Does anyone know of a good CPU cooling fan that fits the ASUS P8 Z68-V Pro OR a different backplate that fits both the fan and this particular motherboard?